AI platforms’ long-held anti-advertising stance changed in January 2026. The rising cost of competing in AI has forced OpenAI and Google to launch AI ad pilots, and other platforms will likely follow suit. But advertisers may not be the winners in this gold rush.

Threads beats X in daily active users on mobile as Meta’s established ad stack makes Threads a safer long-term bet for community-driven social ads.

AI deepfakes are sparking a global crackdown after Grok’s explicit content scandal triggered UK probes and stricter safeguards--raising governance stakes for AI tools.

Social networks will claim close to 32% of US digital ad spending in 2026, as powerful AI systems and improved video monetization help push social past a plateau in time spent among US consumers.

Elon Musk’s X has lost another key figure in its advertising business, with ad chief John Nitti announcing his departure last week after joining just ten months ago, per the Financial Times. Another key loss signals that X’s ad strategy remains turbulent—and until its AI-powered ad focus proves valuable, ad investment should be executed with an air of caution.

Elon Musk plans to sell paid placements within Grok’s AI-generated answers, marking his first major advertiser pitch since Linda Yaccarino’s departure. Grok, X’s in-house AI assistant built by xAI, will integrate ads directly into responses, offering brands high-intent, context-driven targeting. The move comes as X’s global ad revenues, projected at $2.26 billion in 2025, remain roughly half of pre-Musk levels. Musk says Grok will eventually automate the full ad-buying process, from creative grading to personalization, aiming to improve efficiency and performance. With user growth declining in every major region, the strategy hinges on whether brands trust Musk’s AI-led vision enough to re-engage.

The news: Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Elon Musk’s X, left the company Wednesday as the social platform faced a major AI controversy—raising questions about the platform’s future and how advertisers will navigate the shift. Yaccarino, who became CEO of X in 2023, announced her decision to leave on Wednesday. Our take: X’s future is increasingly rocky. Yaccarino’s departure reaffirms many advertisers’ fears that the platform is far from stable, and the Grok mishap indicates that it isn’t yet brand safe—meaning major advertisers could retreat once again.

The news: A Microsoft AI pilot study showed a fourfold improvement in diagnostics compared with a panel of real doctors, but researchers acknowledged the continued need for human expertise. The takeaway: It’s evident AI is not a replacement for doctors, but it is a tool they should start adopting. There’s a window of opportunity for doctors and healthcare systems to grab a first-mover advantage by presenting AI as a co-pilot and a value-add that leads to more accurate diagnoses and more time spent with patients.

Copilot, Edge, and Azure upgrades show Microsoft is building an AI pipeline to control development, infrastructure, and productivity.

X’s ad business is beginning to recover. But the return to growth is complicated, and there’s still a long road ahead for X’s ad revenues to reach pre-Elon Musk levels.

While Meta says the goal is political balance and nuanced conversations, is it chasing social ideology over fixing algorithmic bias?

xAI’s takeover of X gives it AI training data, compute power, and a ready-made audience—offering a path to revive X’s ad business and investor confidence.

Rapid growth and enterprise deals position OpenAI as an AI giant, but as expectations rise, the real test will be proving long-term financial viability.

X adds automated, AI-generated ad creation: The move is another attempt for X to win back brands the platform lost.

AI fueled election confusion: Social platforms struggled to remove deepfakes and AI-driven misinformation during a contentious election year, but investment in moderation may dwindle now

By questioning OpenAI’s shift, Meta warns of tax loopholes and nonprofit misuse, signaling growing tensions over funding ethics and competition in AI’s commercialization.

xAI’s plan for a standalone app may expand user access, but controversial outputs and app store policies could undermine its adoption and growth.

Consumers are submitting medical scans to Elon Musk’s genAI chatbot, Grok: But Grok isn’t trained well enough on medical data, which could create a host of problems for patients.

Despite a slowdown in smartphone sales, innovations in advertising, commerce, AI, and even device form-factors will drive mcommerce and mobile advertising growth in 2024.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the good, the bad, and what's missing from President Biden's new AI safety executive order. "In Other News," we talk about the potential of Microsoft's AI Copilot and Elon Musk's new AI chatbot called Grok. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jacob Bourne and Gadjo Sevilla.